Cuddle Bros

A week or so ago I was having a blah day, just chugging it out until winter vacation, and it felt like bedtime couldn't come fast enough - for the kids and for me. In an act of desperation gave in to yet another Daniel Tiger episode rather than be the screen time enforcer and went off to do something in the kitchen. When I came back to check on the boys I found them like this.

My heart melted. They'd found the mexiblanket on their own, and snuggled together without any prodding from me or J-Man. MDG had his "beeball," PDG one of his wrong-holiday books and someone had been obviously sneaking snacks on the couches, but otherwise it was perfection.

Pretty sure I went to bed with a smile that night. (probably around eight o'clock...)

Math, Logically

I've asked my parents before if there were early signs in my childhood that I was going to be different. And by different I mean, you know... a mathlete.

I don't remember not loving numbers more than words, or feeling intense satisfaction after having solved a problem. Reading was fine. Writing I eventually started to get pretty into, when simply playing out stories with real toys became frowned upon. Math, though, it's always been my thing.

So I've asked because I now have a little guy I'm curious about. Here he is, in case you'd forgotten. (He's totally ignoring my pleas not to grow up so fast!)

But back to math, PDG has been doing something a little different lately. One, he's into Legos - the real kind with tiny pieces that you step on and curse everything you can think of while carefully trying not to actually curse since the Lego Movie has proven that he's really good at quoting things. But, since he's into real Legos, MDG has a renewed interest in the Duplo knockoffs that we have called Megablocks. And so, because this is how it goes with two kids, PDG will often decide he isn't into real Legos anymore and would rather take over MDG's "lego blocks" and make things like this.

Notice anything? Perhaps how perfectly symmetrical it is? Because that's how every single creation PDG builds is. If there aren't two or four matching pieces, then it doesn't belong in his tower/plane/car/rocket.

Miss S at Daycare, who also has a gigantic tub of Megablocks, thinks it's an awareness of color. I'm not fully convinced. My inner numbers lover is hoping that PDG is turning into a math kid. One who will one day get excited by the prospect of solving a logic problem like this that a friend has posted on facebook.

No, I haven't solved it. It would take a super long time. But I did lie awake thinking about it at 3am recently for no reason other than I wanted to. I really really wanted to. And maybe, when I'm not an exhausted mama chasing after two strong-willed toddlers all the time, I'll reread this post and sit down and do it.

Maybe.

What Does a G Say?

This summer I spent a kid-free church meeting jotting down the random things my boys were saying back in July in the hopes of returning to blogging. Obviously I didn't do anything with the scribbled-on program. I think it's tucked away in one of my story notebooks or jammed between couch cushions along with a few spare raisins, some crushed goldfish and probably a rainbow of peeled-off crayon wrappers.

If I ever find it, I'll write it up and add a hyperlink here.

In the meantime, now that it's November, here are some soundbites a fly on our wall might encounter. Or more likely a spider. It is fall after all.

A-town Fair 2015

"Where are my paaaaaants?"
"Darn, darnety darn, darn, darn!"
"Everything is awesome..."
(can you tell PDG's been obsessively watching the Lego Movie???)

one particular bedtime the day after daylight savings, once the door was shut:
PDG: "Waaaahhhh" (crash, boom, sounds of flailing and overtired limbs)
MDG: "PDG, stop! PDG, no!"
PDG: "I don't wanna stop! I want another song. I want another song!!!"
MDG: "Mommmmmm-myyyyyy"
PDG: "She can't hear you, MDG. (pause) Let's try it together. Mommy!!!"
MDG: "Mommmmmm-myyyyyyy."
repeat for a good long while...

"Um, excuse me, what did you say?" - PDG inserting himself into any conversation

"MDG, what color is this?" (any person pointing at any thing that is any color)
"Geen!"

Who says this is PDG's bike?

"Anything can happen, anything can happen, anything can happen" - PDG channeling Ellie Goulding

"It's a hard knock life, for me"
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow..."
(there's been some Annie watching too. the 2014 black version. jury's still out...)

"What song do you want?"
"ABC's"
"A-B-C-D..."
"No, backwards!"
(J-Man, turning to face the door) "A-B-C-D..."
"Not that way! Like Mommy"
(Me, wishing I'd never shared my secret talent) "Z-Y-X-W-V-and-U..."

A few MDG frequent orders:
"Mommy, wait!"
"Mommy, come!"
"Mommy, stop!"
"Pees." (please)
"Mommy, carry you." (aka will you carry me?)
"Self!" (aka I can do this myself, yo - what do you think I am, a baby?!"

"I have a headache" - J-Man
"My back hurts" - me
"We're getting old..." - both of us

....
Yes, the photos are from August. Better late than never.

MDG at 13 Months

MDG is well into life as a toddling one year old, and I almost forgot to stop and record it.

What is he up to, you ask? Pretty much whatever his brother is into. Which of course leads to plenty of tantrums and yanking of toys, followed by a "remember to share" chat, and a sharing dance by mama when PDG finally remembers that MDG is now big enough to enjoy playing with all the same toys he does.

MDG is a decent eater, but still not into meats. And when presented with a food he prefers over what's in his mouth currently, he continues to spit out his entire mouthful in order to upgrade to the new offering.

Sleep is going pretty well and through the night most nights. (excuse me while I knock on every piece of wood I can find). Teething turns everything upside down, but we're holding steady with four up top and four down bottom, so hopefully we get a break for a few months before molars.

Car rides are less scream-filled than they once were, but we can't quite quit the paci. It's just so easy to clip it on him and ride in peace. Or do anything in peace. Maybe next month?

Still just "uh-oh" on the consistent words front. And some sort of "take it/thank you" noise whenever he gives us something. We get the occasional "dada" and lots of "ahhh"s to the right tunes starting songs like the ABCs, Old McDonald, or Wheels on the Bus. I'm starting to think his first real words will be lyrics, not dialogue. Which would be cool. And definitely not inherited from me.

So onward and upward in his 18mo clothes and looking so grown. My big little baby boy.

Seven Months of MDG

During this past month of insufficient blogging and school year ending and heat waves and me time and June and all, our baby MDG grew up some more. It just keeps happening!

Seven months old.

So, what is he up to? Well, for one, he learned to crawl in June. Way earlier than PDG did. He started rolling one day and then doing a roll-sit-roll combo a couple days later and then wham-o, he had it all figured out. And by the 7-month marker he even figured out how to pull up to standing on certain objects and do a little bear-crawl too. Time to re-baby-proof everything.

 

He started getting the hang of solids more and more. He's added in some non-purees like bananas and sweet potatoes as well as the Gerber puffs and yogurt bites and fruits in that pacifier-mesh-thing. Not as excited about veggies, but you can usually trick him by mixing in some sweet fruits, or alternating bites so he doesn't know what's coming next.

His sleep continues to follow an algorithm even the greatest mathematicians couldn't break. Some nights 7-4 then back down for more sleep. Some 7 to 12 or 1, frantic screaming until nursed, then back down til 5:45 then up for the day. Some nights other random awakenings just to find the paci. I've given up figuring it out. We do give an extra two ounces of milk from a bottle after I nurse at night now, just to make sure his belly is full enough to make it through the night. I can't tell if my body is adequately keeping up with him, but that's another whole post about breastfeeding and self-doubt of its own.

His hair is coming in more and more, and even starting to curl!

He now sits in the tub with PDG for bathtime without any sort of support.  Usually it's a lot of giggles before a quick shift to I'm-tired-get-me-out-of-here cries.

The best part about this month has been just how much the boys have started interacting with each other.  They make each other laugh and melt my heart.  MDG watches PDG's every move, mimics what he can, laughs when he can't, and lights up whenever he enters the room.  Sure it's annoying that PDG now wakes up earlier because he hears MDG get up somewhere in the 6am range, but what better way to start a summer morning than to see one boy in his bed, the other in his crib, and both giggling and wiggling as they watch each other?